China

Foreigners in China

To flee or not to flee?

IT MAY not count as an exodus. Indeed, it doesn’t even satisfy that hoary old journalistic definition of a trend: three examples.

Separately, a pair of expatriates long based in China have written heartfelt accounts of their decisions to leave the country. And though few in number, they have attracted a great deal of heartfelt attention from many other “old China hands”, as foreigners who have chosen to make their lives, careers and homes here sometimes like to call themselves.

As a member with 23 years’ worth of Beijing-based standing in that tribe, I read both posts with particular interest. For my part, I do not intend to leave any time soon—nor to indulge in navel-gazing about the complex weighting of the family, environmental and social reasons I have for deciding where to live. But the issues raised in these two pieces are worth considering. Foreigners, after all, are not the only ones pondering them and choosing, sometimes, to leave.

In one of the recent expatriate accounts, an American film-maker, editor and blogger named Charlie Custer said most of his reasons were personal—and that none of them had to do with ugly threats he’d received since entering into a nasty public feud with a prominent Chinese television personality, Yang Rui. However Mr Custer did acknowledge feeling distress over China’s lack of a free press and rule of law. And he mentioned that his past couple of years had been not only “depressing” and “soul-crushing”, but also “occasionally terrifying”.

However he cited as bigger problems air pollution and food safety. These were the most important factors behind his decision to leave Beijing, after a four-year stay. “I like breathing,” and “eating also is fun,” he wrote in pithy summary.

These are not concerns to be taken lightly. Chinese officials have been struggling with their cities’ worsening smog for some years now. They are probably better focused on it now than officials in Los Angeles or London were when those cities were at comparable stages of development. Even so, it will be a long time before conditions improve. Meanwhile health officials in Beijing have acknowledged a 60% increase in the rate of lung cancer in the city over the past decade, even after factoring out any increase in smoking rates.

As Mr Custer notes in his piece, “It’s almost cliché to complain about the air quality in Beijing; it’s terrible and everyone knows it. People here just deal as best they can.” And as bad as that is on the bad days, it’s worth noting that average life expectancy in Beijing last year stood at 81.12 years. That compares admirably with 80.6 years in New York City, and 84.4 years for men in the nicer parts of London. Bad air and bad food are bad, but it seems that people do, as Mr Custer writes, “deal”.

If staying alive is the goal, it may be wiser to remove one’s head from the bilious clouds and fix them squarely on the road. One interesting study, published by the World Health Organisation last year, found that injuries from traffic accidents had a surprisingly large impact on life expectancy rates in large Chinese cities.

Another bit of useful perspective was provided this month by The Economist’s sister organisation, The Economist Intelligence Unit, which released the results of its latest liveability survey of 140 cities around the world. Beijing ranked 72nd and Shanghai 78th. That leaves them far behind the perennial top-tier garden spots like Melbourne, Vancouver and Vienna. But it also places them well ahead of such proud places as Istanbul, Dubai and Rio de Janeiro.

Of course none of that diminishes the impact of bad air and tainted food on the quality of life. These ranked high among reasons for leaving not only with Mr Custer but also in Hurun’s study with the Bank of China. As did China’s high levels of corruption, its wobbly legal environment, and its education system. In China, some people of means tend to worry about the possibility of legal probes into how they amassed their fortunes. Many of high political standing feel the need to make contingency plans for a breakdown in stability, such as some people fear could come at any time. As we wrote in May, the term “naked officials” is commonly used to describe the large number of Communist party members and government workers who prepare for the worst by sending their families and assets abroad.

An essay by Mark Kitto, a Briton who first came to China as a student in 1986, ventured into more thought-provoking realms. After living here for the past 16 years as a businessman, Mr Kitto decided he’d had enough. Some of his motivations match those of the wealthy Chinese who choose to leave. He cited concerns that “the air my family breathes and the food we eat is doing us physical harm” but added that the “one overriding reason I must leave China” is the need to give his children a decent education.

Other aspects of Mr Kitto’s experience might only make sense to a foreigner, and a disillusioned one at that. “I have fallen out of love, woken from my China Dream,” he wrote.

Upon returning to China in the mid-1990s, after a post-graduate period spent away, he noted a widespread difference since the time of his student days. An air of optimism remained, but then he also detected “a distinct whiff of commerce in place of community”. Mr Kitto bemoaned China’s shift from a traditional family culture to a “me” culture, and its rush toward materialism and conspicuous consumption.

Mr Kitto also wrote that he wanted, in a certain sense, to “become Chinese.” He acknowledges that this was never possible—but not that he was naive to think it might be. Eventually he came to find that his “desire to be part of a community and no longer be treated as an outsider” was not attainable. He concludes with hopes that someday the hundreds of thousands of Chinese people whom he knows to be trying to make China a better place will prevail. “That’ll be a good time to become Chinese. It might even be possible,” he wrote.

On that point, I remain sceptical. It is hard to imagine that Mr Kitto’s dream of becoming Chinese, or being accepted as anything close to it, will ever be feasible. I know an American man who moved to China and married a local woman in the 1940s. He took Chinese citizenship in the 1960s, and has lived in the same Beijing courtyard house for 60 years. When visitors come to call, his neighbours helpfully point them to the door of the “old foreigner.”

There are plenty of “old China hands”—myself included—who are content to hang on in spite of the hardships, the challenges, and our inability to become Chinese. Joining us are many younger ones. They are drawn by the sort of excitement and opportunity that can be found in a place that is changing fast and undoubtedly poised to become ever more important to the rest of the world.

Wherever China goes from here, it remains a fascinating thing to watch and to be a part of—even if one must remain contented with “permanent observer” status.

Whether China is an ideal place to live, no matters for Chinese or forigners, is self-evident, the answer of which can be simply got above.
In additional, the growing rate of study aboard in recent decades also unveil the inequity and inferiority of Chinese education system, which at the same time can be regarded as the failure of patriotism and epidemic of money-oriented, too. Because majorities of oversea students take the green card as final goal except of their inabilities. Providing that everyone can share the resource of education equally by competing fairly but not local priority, the number of overseas students will plummet immediately.
Not only the education, but are there many other livelihood issues deteriorating the stabilities due to the regime. And with contemporary trend on, I think more people will choose to leave unless the elite can rivse the distribution system. After all, it is human nature to aviod risks.

Interesting replies. Obviously, I'm sure you all assume that I know a few things about China, but I also know a little bit about economics and human behavior. The USA is BY FAR the most influential country on the planet. Japan didn't surpass the US in the '80s and China will not surpass the US in this millennium. The reason is actually quite simple and something that took me a long time to understand; why a place like China cannot be greater that the USA. It comes down to Trust. You can trust people in the US a lot more than in Asia, and that trust is the basis for everything that involves more than one person in a well functioning society. Aggregated on the whole and US has levels of productivity and innovation that is unmatched.

So what I'm returning to in the US besides the warm fuzzy feeling of trusting my neighbor? Cheap housing - I bought a single family home in a large metro area, surrounded by clean air with mountain views from my bedroom, superb free charter school education for my children. Compare that to Shanghai - I couldn't afford to buy a master bathroom suite (let alone a whole apartment), my kidneys were failing from bad water, air, and anything else I would eat; and I'm not paying $30,000 USD/ year for a marginal private school for my two kids.

Job wise, I left a position in with national responsibilities in the PRC making well over six-figures (that is more than the top 5% in the US, BTW). I came back with nothing to do, decided to switch careers, studied, networked, and in less than a year found a solid position in a Fortune 500. The US is down, but not nearly out. China has peaked, and it will start looking a lot more like the current stagnating Japan much sooner than people think. This is way different than the '90s Asian crisis. And as housing continues to rebound here in the US, the spending, growth, and jobs will follow.

"To me as long as you are a citizen of the US, you should be considered American."

I just wonder if China should have the double citizenship... you know as a foreigner if you want to be Chinese just apply to get the Chinese citizenship then you can shut up the village's mouth by shouting "I am Chinese", then all the debates of "you are or not Chinese" might stop, but then I don't just if this double citizenship is good or bad for China...

It is quite ghastly when certain 70 year old Burmese "terror agents", who would still be a virgin if not for the various 20 Kyat "servicewomen" he has paid throughout his life, to describe any female, wether it's Arab women, Thai prime ministers, or Xi Jingping's wife, as a certain old terror agent has done, as "cute."
Long live disgusting old Burmese terror agents, I guess...

You have to speak "American" to be considered American? that is so stupid. To me as long as you are a citizen of the US, you should be considered American. I think you Americans (I assume you are American) should amend the Constitution so my fellow German, Arnie can become President (Austria is a technicality, I did not have the time to invade Austria). I know he does not speak English very well, but nether did George Bush.

I think Westerners are a good thing for China, particularly in places where people can shoot bloody-Zombie as fun. In order to make Westerners more comfortable, Chinese local governments will encourage more games of shooting Zombie, online and offline. As a Zombie you should be happy.

I've lived in China for 5 years, though not continuously, having first moved here in 2004. I have a Chinese wife and we have a child. I speak the language well and used to be very interested in Chinese culture

We are fleeing.

There is a lot of hostility towards foreigners and it's getting worse.

1) I strongly dislike most of the people here (90%). They are mercantile, shallow, materialistic, rude, dishonest, hygienic, racist, closed-minded, indoctrinated and either have a superiority or inferiority complex. They are either above you or beneath you. Equal relationships are hard to come by.

2) Not a week goes by without another food scandal. It has become impossible to buy produce, food or other products without putting poison into your body.

3) The air is always terrible.

4) Money doesn't buy class. Most rich people here are even more like peasants than the poor. They don't have taste, don't have morals and still spit and shit on the floor.

5) From a very young age, children are taught to get a result, no matter the cost, i.e. that the ends always justify the means. So you have everybody cheating in tests (fine if you don't get caught), lying to each other and then when caught, lying to cover the lies.

As a personal anecdote, I have some foreign friends here, and they all feel the same. They are all leaving this year and they, like me were once interested in Chinese culture, history and people. Now we all realise, the Chinese have little to offer this world except money.

Most don't even respect themselves or understand the meaning of the word. They think respect and face are the same.

These people have become slaves of their environment and all want to leave. The problem is they don't know why. They say "air, food, etc"...the same reasons I gave. They fundamentally mis-understand reality.

Those are all symptoms of a society, system and culture that has allowed people to get rich through corruption, nepotism and slave labour, all while forgetting every single lesson of their recent history.

In my opinion, Chinese are their own worst enemy. Hong Kongers, Taiwanese and some other overseas Chinese are slightly better, but few ever learn even the concept of empathy in school as children. They have very low EQ, and think they're the most intelligent race in the world.

Awful place, and I regret wasting my time with the language, culture and people, save for finding a diamond in the rough (my wife).

If I could give anyone advice about coming to China, it is this- choose Indonesia, Thailand, or another country. This place is a lost cause.

Read the book 'Why China Will Never Rule The World' if you get a chance. Talk about hitting the nail on the head. I got a sore neck from nodding so much when reading it.

This is from the Long runner who thinks that only he and his white compatriots can speak the truth !!@
>
The Chinese carry their money hungry, test crazed, bad manners everywhere. It's how they act too when they move to the US. I'm sick of being surrounded by rude Chinese people.
...
He is right about the one factor - The Chines are known to be irrational and extremely rude all over the world.

In India the situation are the same. Parents pay to get their children into a relative good school. You are the lucky one who can afford, when people can't pay, can their children go to school? It is just a question.

For the past 50 years, Britian has been invaded by Indians. Hordes of Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus and other Indians have settled down and made homes there, uninvited by the general indigenous population, and mostly disliked. They take every advantage of the welfare state and the indigenous population are not allowed to complain because of quite strict race relations laws and the much hated "human rights" laws. The different governments over the years promise to cut down the numbers coming, but nothing is done and there is a sea change in attitudes in Europe which may affect them in future.

Just FYI, Japan surpassed the USA in GDP per capita (nominal) in the 1980s.

You cannot really expect a population of 150 million (Japan) to overtake a population of 300 million (USA) in total power, can you?

Now it's doubtful that China will ever reach the USA's level of GDP per capita in any foreseeable future, due to numerous reasons, but it only needs to reach 23% of America's GDP per capita to match/surpass America in total GDP.

Now I get why you would like to move back to the US for improvements to quality of life, but comparing China today to Japan in the 80s is just silly.

The property bubble can't really burst because that would disrupt too much of the other parts of the economy, which would destabilize the CPC's authoritarian rule. The CPC today is trying desperately to "diffuse the bubble slowly." Even if their plan works out, expect the Chinese economy to be really unfair like it is today for at least another 10-20+ years.

BTW most rich Chinese people find a way to smuggle their money abroad, either through HK/Macau or an investment bank, to invest. But this can be difficult if one doesn't have family members with Western or Singaporean citizenship. I guess this is partly the reason why so many Chinese are trying to obtain Western/Singaporean citizenship today...

You cant imagine how great it feels to wake up in Beijing and find that it is one one of those rare days when the wind blew in the right direction to clear away the blanket of air pollution to leave beautiful blue skies. Rare indeed. On a good day you can see mountains from my house. On an average day you cant see the building accross the street. yes I do worry about my family/s health. Other worries include average apartment price of US$800,000 - and this is certainly a 70 year lease on a dirty poorly constructed apartment outside the fourth ring road. School fees for foreigners are standard at $30,000 per year per child.